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“Then it means you don’t hate it.”

…Is this why they say there are no absolute secrets in this world? With an almost annoying quickness, Kang Juha pulled his lips back into a smile. My eyes involuntarily drifted to the corners of his mouth, which were curved into a soft arc.

So, that thing just touched my lips. No, it didn’t just touch them…

The scene from moments ago flashed through my mind like a video clip. Even though I wasn’t a thief, I jerked my head up snap like someone whose conscience was pricking them.

At the end of my gaze, which had fled from Kang Juha’s lips, were his two eyes.

“…Ah.”

“Can’t we try it just one more time?”

“Excuse me?”

“You might not have hated the first time, but you might grow to like it if we do it a second time.”

What kind of sophistry is this?

Before I could even offer a rebuttal, Kang Juha firmly closed his eyes and lunged his lips toward me once again.

I hurriedly raised my hand to block him. With a smack sound, his lips pressed against the inside of my palm.

This was something else I learned for the first time: the inside of the palm is more sensitive than I thought. The moment his lips touched, a ticklish sensation washed over me, causing me to shrink my neck involuntarily.

“Stop, stop…!”

At my urgent words, Kang Juha slowly opened his closed eyes. Seeing a faint smile lingering in his gaze, it was clear he was playing a prank just to tease me.

“Mr. Kang Juha, stop.”

It wasn’t like I was training a puppy. No, wait. Looking at the way he’s acting, he’s exactly like a puppy. Since he was slyly applying pressure to his lips to push forward, I had to use a stern voice.

“Tsk, no.”

Only then did Kang Juha pull away as if disappointed. Just as when he had approached, an embarrassing pop sound echoed as he detached.

I just scratched my innocent palm, and Kang Juha, seeing me do that, burst into laughter.

“Teacher, was that your first kiss?”

“…That is a matter of privacy.”

“Hmm, it definitely was the first time.”

Since it was an undeniable truth, I simply chose silence. Kang Juha wore a somehow satisfied face and smiled like a well-fed beast. Something about that look gave me the feeling he was hiding something, so I asked.

“Have you done it before, Mr. Kang Juha? You’re acting like someone who has…”

“Yes.”

“…?”

“I’ve done it.”

The question had been based on the assumption that he definitely hadn’t. I had already checked all the records regarding Kang Juha that were within my level of access.

Of course, excessively private details wouldn’t have been recorded, but still, since I knew generally how he had treated people and lived his life, I had defined the person named Kang Juha in my own way… Could it be that all of it was just my prejudice?

…Really?

No. Kang Juha is an Esper. So, he might have naturally tried something like a kiss.

“Ah, I see. Come to think of it, you might have kissed while receiving guiding.”

“That’s not it.”

“…”

“That person wasn’t a guide.”

“…Was that person eight years old?”

After the time Kang Juha claimed to be seven years old, I didn’t think I would bring this story up again. If his kissing partner wasn’t a guide, the conclusion was that he tried it before the age of eight—before he awakened as an Esper—or thereabouts.

No, in the first place, a press of the lips at that young age is just a little peck, not a kiss, right?

“No. They were a full-grown adult.”

“…Pedophilia? A crime…?”

“I was an adult too.”

“Ah, you startled me…”

It was a relief that it was a kiss between two adults. I almost framed an innocent person as a criminal with my useless delusions. To whoever it was that had their first kiss with Kang Juha, I apologize.

“…No, wait, this is strange now that I think about it. You kissed someone who wasn’t a guide after becoming an adult?”

Why? For what reason? Does Kang Juha get missions like that? A fake marriage? A fake relationship?

Since there’s no way for me to know the details of the missions assigned to Kang Juha, I could only imagine vaguely. I didn’t think a state agency would order something you’d find at a private detective agency, but then again, in their world, you never know, so maybe…

Sigh, why on earth am I even thinking about this?

“Yes. It was an Esper. Just like me.”

The moment I heard that, I felt grateful to Kang Juha.

First of all, he gathered up all the useless delusions floating in my head and shoved them into the trash can. Thanks to that, my mind was wiped clean.

And the thought that was born with a massive explosion, like a Big Bang in my head—which was now as empty as a vacuum—was…

“…An Esper-sexual?”

That Kang Juha might be an Esper-sexual.

To my question, which was more like a monologue, Kang Juha only smiled meaningfully and said nothing. I could understand the whole situation just from that.

In the end, that afternoon’s work was a total wash. I stared at the reports, and while I could clearly read the black letters, the meaning didn’t enter my head at all, so I repeated the same sentence dozens of times. Finally, with a thud sound, I slammed the cover of the report shut.

After that, I couldn’t have a proper conversation with Kang Juha. The house was filled with a silence so heavy that it was a relief it was raining; excluding the sound of the rain, there wasn’t a single noise.

This is a bit of a funny story, but nevertheless, we slept in the same bed that night.

Actually, I was in a very agitated state regarding the incident that happened in the afternoon, so I didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as Kang Juha. But to do that, I would have had to talk to Kang Juha about it again. Just imagining talking about it made me so embarrassed that I couldn’t say a word.

For that reason, we naturally ended up lying in one bed.

It was unfortunate, but I couldn’t sleep facing him, so I turned my back to him and looked at the wall. Looking at the white wallpaper, I didn’t even know how time passed.

I definitely slept since I woke up, but I didn’t feel refreshed at all.

Outside the window, the sunlight was shining brilliantly as if it had never poured down a storm, making my heart feel even more troubled. Sigh, life is hard.

“…But I still have to go to work.”

Because that’s what it means to be a member of society.

“Good morning. It’s so good to see you after not seeing you for a day, Team Leader.”

Juyoung welcomed me with a broad, obviously forced grin.

“Sorry, but I’m not that glad to see you.”

“…What? I’m trying to play along, so why are you being so cold? Are you still holding that psychopath thing against me?”

If you saw me as such a petty boss—you’re right. But that wasn’t the problem right now.

Fortunately, Kang Juha had visited the Guiding Bureau for a routine check-up, so I could finally breathe. Since he said it would take a good three hours to check everything, I should breathe as much as possible during that time.

“Hey, Juyoung.”

“…No, I said I was really sorry.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Ah, it’s not? I felt guilty for nothing… Hehe. Right? There’s no way our broad-minded Team Leader would hold onto something like that for days on end.”

Even if you flatter me, I will remember that incident forever, Park Juyoung.

“What do you think about Espers?”

“What do I think? I don’t think anything. When I first awakened, I was so excited like I’d become some kind of hero, but after time passed, hero my foot. I just became an office worker who can read people’s thoughts a little.”

“No, not you. I’m asking what you think of other Espers.”

Juyoung made a bizarre face, like someone who had heard something completely unheard of.

“Huh? Other Espers besides me? Why would I think about that? I don’t think about them at all. Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.”

Whether it was so repulsive that just thinking about it for a moment gave him goosebumps, Juyoung crumpled his face and shivered his body.

As I thought. This is probably the reaction typical Espers would have.

Espers truly have no interest in other Espers. It reaches a level where they even feel dislike if pushed further, but usually, like Juyoung, they shudder if told to think about it. I was the same.

Because Espers are essentially in a position where they have to compete with each other for the limited existence of guides. They are born to instinctively feel a sense of rejection toward each other’s energy. This was a fact proven to some extent scientifically.

“Then, what if an Esper likes another Esper?”

“Well, depending on the person, they could like them. You like Director Shin too, Team Leader. If I had to pick, I’m closer to liking you than disliking you.”

“I’m not curious about that.”

“No! You asked me! I didn’t want to say it like that either! I don’t want to be involved with you that way either, Team Leader!”

“Right! Exactly!”

As I suddenly sprang up, Juyoung faltered and backed away.

“Why, why are you doing that? You’re being scary, seriously…”

“But why. Why… would it be like that?”

I omitted the words ‘Kang Juha’ in the middle. Even if it’s Juyoung, this is a personal matter. And I didn’t really want to share this kind of story with Juyoung.

“What, did Kang Juha confess to you or something, Team Leader?”

“…”

“Wow… he actually did it? That Kang Juha guy is really something else.”

But the fact that Juyoung spoke as if he already knew everything wasn’t part of my expectations?